


No Translation Required

by Beecess



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ballet, Ballet, Ballet Dancer Katsuki Yuuri, Chaptered, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, M/M, Not Beta Read, Principal Dancer Katsuki Yuuri, Rating will go up later, Tags Are Hard, This boy is a principal dancer there should be a tag for that, Viktor is still an ice skater, What would have happened if Yuuri pursued ballet instead?, Will Add New Tags With Each Chapter, talking in the tags, there i made it, well buckle up kids i made a fic for that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 02:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11326512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beecess/pseuds/Beecess
Summary: Yuuri Katsuki, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Japan becomes sought after by many ballet companies after he announces that he wants to transfer, leaving the National Ballet and Japan behind him. Many notable groups reach out to him, but he picks the Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg, one of the two most prestigious ballet companies in Russia.(Summaries suck. Anyway, I made a ballet AU)





	No Translation Required

**Author's Note:**

> Title from a Twyla Tharp quote:  
> "The ballet needs to tell its own story in such a way it can be received without having to be translated into language."
> 
> I suddenly wanted to write a fic for the first time in 5 years and this is what's happened so far.

Let it be known that Yuuri Katsuki, one of the principal dancers at the National Ballet of Japan, tried extremely hard to hold back tears as the took his final bow with the company. He’d told himself that he wouldn’t cry tonight, but his effort proved futile as heavy tears drew tracks down his cheeks, running through his stage makeup. He knew his family was out in the audience, cheering and giving the show a standing ovation along with the rest of the crowd. They’d come to Tokyo just to see his final performance in Japan. Giselle was one of his favorite shows, and he was glad he’d had a chance to perform it at home for his family one last time. He smiled as the curtain fell, taking a deep breath to settle himself as the audience disappeared from view. He eventually made it backstage and into the dressing room after many hugs and heartfelt goodbyes from members of the company. He finally sat down and took a minute to breathe.  
This stage was where his professional career had begun. It was the stage where he’d danced his first corps de ballet in a professional show, where he’d debuted as a member of the Ballet and later on, as a soloist; the stage where he’d glided and leapt across the floor as the lead, hardly believing that he’d become one of the company’s principal dancers. Yuuri didn’t regret his decision to leave, but he was going to miss this place. 

Later that night, when Yuuri finally made it back to his apartment, he took a look at the stack of letters on his table and sighed. Once he’d announced his plans to leave the National Ballet, he had been bombarded with letters from ballet companies around the world offering him a position. He’d stayed away from the media lately because he knew that he’d started a transfer war between the companies. They were all competing for him; New York and The Royal Ballet had made the best offers salary-wise, but one other in particular stuck out. This one he couldn’t ignore. One company that he’d never expected a Japanese principal to be offered a place in, especially one who hadn’t had any training in Russia at all. The Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg wanted him. They wanted Yuuri Katsuki. One of the two most prestigious Ballet Companies in Russia had extended _him_ an invitation. Well, he’d be a fool not to accept that, wouldn’t he? He leaned back into the couch with a sigh. At least in New York or London, he would’ve been able to speak the language. He’d need to order a Russian dictionary soon. 

Telling the world that he’d made his decision was nerve-wracking. He knew he’d sent the dance world’s media into a frenzy...again. Japanese articles were praising his choice and calling him a national hero for representing Japan in such a prestigious company. He just hoped he’d be able to live up to those expectations. Dancing was never as natural to him as it was to some others. He’d had to work hard for his extensions, train his feet into that graceful arch that some were just naturally blessed with. He would drill over and over, sometimes late into the night, until his feet were raw and his body was worn. His anxiety about performing was something he still struggled with at every single show, but Yuuri Katsuki was overflowing with determination, and not a soul could deny it.  
Telling his family, on the other hand, proved to be much less nerve-wracking. Minako was undeniably proud of him, pulling him into a strong hug the minute he got off the train in Hasetsu. She’d always been his number one supporter, giving him free private lessons as a child, and eventually helping him to convince his family to let him go to Tokyo to finish school and enroll in the ballet academy there. Yuuri didn’t know where his career would be without her.  
He’d wanted to spend the next two weeks before his flight to Russia with his family, and they were more than happy to see him, having not gotten many visits from Yuuri in recent years due to his busy schedule. His parents were also proud, of course, but in that sweet sort of naive way in that, they knew something amazing had happened to Yuuri, but didn’t necessarily understand just how big of a deal it really was. They’d never been too into the dance world, content just to pay for lessons and support Yuuri at his shows and recitals.

Telling Yuuko was different from telling anyone else in that she brought up a topic that no one, not even Yuuri himself, had remembered. 

“Saint Petersburg? As in where your childhood idol, Viktor Nikiforov’s, home rink is?” she asked, excitedly. 

This made Yuuri pause. In all the commotion he hadn’t even remembered that little detail. He’d quit skating years ago, but he still kept up with the major competitions and the star skaters. Or maybe just one star skater in particular…  
Viktor had been his role model as a child. He could remember the awe he felt, and that he could still feel whenever he watched one of Viktor’s competitions on TV. When he watched Viktor skate he just felt...enraptured. He’d even recently tried to choreograph a piece to Viktor’s newest free skate, his Stammi Vicino routine. He’d finished it, and he’d had a friend in the company record it for him. Yuuri had truthfully planned on posting it to his usually dead Instagram account, but he’d never been brave enough to let anyone see it. It wasn’t a big deal though, he’d let go of his silly celebrity crush when he left skating behind, hadn’t he? He told himself that he just admired Viktor’s career and innate talent. Yuuko’s smug look and the light blush on Yuuri’s own face said otherwise. 

“I’d actually forgotten about that,” he confessed, smiling sheepishly. “I’ll probably never see him around anyway. Saint Petersburg is a big place. It’s not as if we’re just going to run into each other on the street.” 

“I don’t know, Yuuri,” she said, turning around to finish putting up skates. “Stranger things have happened.”

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to me for actually writing the first chapter of this fic that I wrote 3 pages of plot notes for. Not sure when the next chapter will be up, but it'll be soon because this was more of an intro to the story than anything else. I promise there will be more dialogue.  
> Hope you enjoyed my return from my five-year fic writing hiatus. Hopefully, I've gotten better at it.  
> (also I finished this pretty late so if you saw any grammar stuff please point it out. I read over it a few times, but my tired eyes probably missed something)


End file.
